Vegemite

An Australian take on a British product

Vegemite was invented in Melbourne in 1922 when Australian food manufacturer Fred Walker asked chemist CP Callister to create a product similar to British Marmite.

Vegemite on crackers, complete with the Australian flag. Photo: Janine Kelly.

Made from brewer's yeast, Vegemite was initially slow to catch on, but sales improved in 1930 when Walker secured the Australian rights to Kraft's processed cheese and co-marketed it with Vegemite. During the Second World War, Vegemite captured the Australian market. Marmite was unobtainable and the Australian Army supplied Vegemite to its troops.

In the 1950s and 60s, despite acquisition by the American company Kraft, Vegemite became a distinctively 'Australian' food, featuring in songs, and on souvenirs and other popular culture ephemera.

As overseas travel increased, Vegemite was carried around the world by Australians as a way to reaffirm their connection to home.

Nostalgic links

In the 1950s, Vegemite spoke of Australian vitality and innocence. Today it provides a connection back to seemingly simpler times and is symbolic of the reverence for the ordinary in Australian culture. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tapped into this when he declared in the 2007 election campaign that he was a 'toast and Vegemite sort of guy'. Vegemite's links to nostalgia are evident in contemporary advertising campaigns, which often hark back to the original 'happy little Vegemites' ad of the 1950s.

Spreading the multiculturalism message

Vegemite was once used to sell the idea of multiculturalism. A poster featuring the traditional Vegemite jar with the word 'multicultural' replacing 'Vegemite' and with the slogan 'spread it around' was designed to promote the idea of multiculturalism as characteristically Australian and something to be encouraged. Introduced as a series of national policies in 1973, multiculturalism has been both championed and criticised by politicians and members of the public throughout its history.